THURSDAY, JULY 11TH – JADE EAGLESON AND ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL – NORSK COUNTRY TREFF – NORWAY:
After spending 7 “rainy” days sightseeing in Switzerland and Amsterdam with Lindsey, Zac and Zoe and 3 ½ “rainy” days in Bergen, Norway, it’s time for my next event. Jade Eagleson and his group flew into Bergen today. They were supposed to land at 1:20 pm but had a “mechanical” issue on the aircraft and were delayed by one hour.
We had around a 4 hour bus ride from Bergen to Sandane where the hotel is located. It’s all on a narrow road that looks like it should be one way traffic but is actually two way. Plus it is up and down mountains. Definitely not for anyone who is prone to being car sick! There is also a 20 minute ferry crossing included in the trip.
We arrived at the hotel at around 7:15 pm, got checked into the rooms with no issues and made our way into the dining room for dinner. Dinner consisted of a pot of chili, some rice, a salad with no dressing, and a dessert. While the food was very good, everyone was disappointed because they were expecting to be able to eat “Norwegian” food – like salmon, boiled potatoes, etc. I assumed we didn’t have the huge buffet as we have had for decades past at this hotel because we arrived so close to the time the restaurant closed.
Cor Sanne and his wife Yoke are here from Holland so after having a nice dinner with Jade and his group, I was able to sit and talk with them for a while. I’ve known and worked with Cor for decades when we were taking entertainment into Holland.
Was planning to get in bed by midnight but got a few important phone calls from the USA and didn’t make it to bed until 3 am with a 6 am wakeup call! UGH!!!
FRIDAY, JULY 12TH – JADE EAGLESON PERFORMANCE AT NORSK COUNTRY TREFF, NORWAY:
6 am came way too quickly! We departed the hotel at 8:15 am and when we arrived at the venue, the guys were amazed to see that the stage was completely set up and waiting for them to load in/sound check. It is so nice to see all my friends that I’ve made here over several decades. Our drivers, the staff at the venue, the festival hosts – so many special friendships with this great festival. I was very pleased to hear that ticket sales are higher this year than last year, especially since last year’s sales were a record high.
The guys knocked out sound check in the 3 hours allotted and I walked around and talked to my friends for most of that time. I was really wishing I could just take a nap! We departed the venue at noon and drove to a breathtaking waterfall for some photo ops. It did not disappoint!
Arrived back at the hotel at around 1 pm and I was supposed to meet with a promoter I’ve just started working with on a new event. I had about an hour before that meeting so I walked to the grocery store and bought a salad to have for lunch. The person I was supposed to meet sent me a message and a photo of his car with a flat tire, so the meeting got pushed to much later. But, he did make it and is a really nice guy.
Had about 30 minutes before I had to meet the group for dinner. Tonight it was lasagna and salad. I have a feeling the new “owners” think we want to come to Norway and eat food like we eat in America.
Again had less than an hour before heading to the venue for a Meet and Greet and then Jade’s performance. There were only about 10 people in the Meet and Greet line and it moved quickly. Jade also took photos with the staff and festival organizers.
There was a huge crowd at the festival. Lots of people on the dance floor and sitting beside the dance floor but also the bleachers in the hill side were filled and the area in front of the Saloon Stage. Jade did a great show and everyone connected with the festival was very happy.
I got a call just as Jade came of the stage telling me that Asleep at the Wheel were about 30 minutes from the hotel so I rushed back to meet them. They were all in a good mood but very tired from the long day of travel. I’ve known Ray for decades and taken him around the world many times. Such a great guy!
I got them checked in and Jade and his group arrived back at the hotel. I stayed up and worked until 2 am and have to get up at 5:30 am. Another short night but what a great first night at the festival. Beautiful Weather. Fantastic performance by Jade. Happy festival promoters. It was a great day.
Jude
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2024TH – ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL PERFORMANCE AT NORSK COUNTRY FEST:
Up at 6 am and breakfast at 8:00 am. AATW tour manager pointed out last night that the breakfast didn’t start at the hotel until 8 am and we were scheduled to depart at 8:15 am for load in at the venue. We changed departure time to 8:30 am to give everyone time to eat. The production was set up and ready for them when they arrived. I rode back over to the hotel with the driver at 10:00 to pick up Ray for a 10:30 am departure.
Sound check went quickly and the weather is beautiful again today. We have planned to go by the church and do a quick sound check there with Ray but decided it wasn’t necessary. The group also decided they didn’t want to stop by the waterfall before returning to the hotel. I think everyone is still very tired and jetlagged from the trip yesterday.
Only had a few minutes at the hotel before needing to go back to the beautiful little church on the lake. Several of the artists from the festival sing 2 songs each — including Jade and Ray. As usual, for me, it was the highlight of the event. The church is so incredibly beautiful and sits on the edge of the lake. There is a cemetery in front of the church with headstones dating back 200 years ago. The feeling of listening to the entertainers sing in such a historic beautiful setting is indescribable.
Had about 30 minutes going down to dinner. Still no Norwegian food like we always had but it was still good food.
We departed for the show at 7:15 pm and had a short Meet and Greet with about 10 people and then took photos with a lot of the staff and festival organizers. One really cool part of the “Meet and Greet” was the fact that the Ambassador to the USA from Norway was there. She was lovely! She will be based in the Washington, DC area for the next 4 years and I gave her my business card so we can stay in touch.
Ray and the musicians took the stage at exactly 8:00 pm and had a fantastic show. Jade and some of his guys hiked to the top of the mountain today. I was VERY impressed!!! They still made it back in time to eat dinner at the hotel and go to the festival to see AATW perform. He finished the set at around 10 pm and the crowd was huge. Not as many people were dancing because of the style of music that AATW plays but there were more sitting at various locations around the venue. Ray signed a few autographs and took some photos before we all departed to the hotel.
Again, I had plans to pack and get in bed early. I keep the TV on when I’m in the room so I will have background noise. Suddenly I heard an “alert” on BBC news saying there had been a possible assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania. I stayed up until 2:30 am messaging back and forth with Jade and several friends back home. It is such a horrific incident but thankfully he is alive. If he had not turned his head at exactly that particular moment, he would have been shot in the head.
What was surprising is how much better the BBC coverage was than what people in the USA were seeing. I finally went to bed but kept the TV on all night just to be sure I could watch updates as they came in.
SUNDAY, JULY 14TH – TRAVEL TO BERGEN TO OVERNIGHT THERE BEFORE FLYING HOME ON MONDAY:
Got up at 6 am to the news that the person who attempted to assassinate former President Trump is a 20 year old male living in the area where the rally took place. Also learned that one bystander was killed and two critically injured. What an absolute nightmare and how embarrassing for America!
Had breakfast with some of the guys and was packed and ready to go at 10 am. When 10:05 came and no bus arrived, I called the bus driver. He said the bus was supposed to arrive at 12 noon! I don’t know where the miscommunication came but the festival organizer called the bus company and was able to get the driver and bus to try to arrive earlier but they were driving from an area two hours away. I hate that everyone had to get up 2 hours earlier but at least no one has a flight today. We are all staying at a Clarion Hotel connected to the Bergen airport and everyone was going to take the train into Bergen to sightsee this afternoon.
Bus arrived at 11:30 am and we began the 4 hour trip to Bergen. I was able to hook up my laptop to my personal hot spot on T-Mobile and work the entire drive. When we arrived at the Clarion in Bergen, all our reservations were in order. Some of Jade’s and AATW’s group decided to go into Bergen even though it was raining. I encouraged them to do so since Bergen is amazing. We took the bus into the city and the rain stopped! They agreed that Bergen is beautiful. We walked around the main streets for about an hour and Jade and some of the guys tried “whale” at the fish market. The bus had stopped running so we took the tram back. We had to purchase tickets out of machine and because there were so many of us and the tram was already loading, several of us missed it. But there was another one 10 minutes later.
We rushed into the hotel restaurant to eat dinner before they closed at 9:30 pm. It was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had in a hotel restaurant!
I was in bed by 2 am and had to get up at 6 am to go to the airport.
MONDAY, JULY 15TH – TRAVELING HOME:
Jade and his group had already left for the airport by the time I walked over. It was difficult to locate the KLM counter where I could check in but finally found it after several missteps. My flight departed about 15 minutes late which was time I didn’t have to waste! When we landed Amsterdam, I rushed to Passport Control to once again find that there were only 2 agents working. Unbelievable. The line was incredibly long and moved slowly. I made it through and had to “run” to the gate – which was a long way from Passport Control. They were ready to board when I arrived. I got the “happy” (NOT) news that morning that the Wifi was not going to work on the flight home. I really, really needed to work on the flight and if I had gotten the news the day before, I would have changed my flight. As I said, this is the first time I’ve connected through Boston …. And hopefully the last. The aircraft are very old and obviously not in very good condition. And the airport seems to be very antiquated.
We landed late and then the luggage belt jammed. There were about a dozen “agents” standing around and none of them tried to clear the jam. Finally some of the passengers cleared it but the belt still didn’t restart. About 20 minutes later, an announcement was made that there was a “technical difficulty” and the bags would be coming out on a different belt!
After picking up my bags, I located the “re-check” area – which isn’t close to the arrival area at all. They were making everyone stand in line to re-check the bags even though the bags were already ticketed for our next destination. Then I had to figure out how to get from the terminal where we landed to the terminal where the flight would be departing from. I remembered the long shuttle bus ride when I arrived here! I finally had to find someone to ask and was told that I had to go outside to Stop #11 and take a shuttle bus. Problem is, there was no Stop #11 or any other numbers! I gave up and went back inside where I located a long escalator that indicated it would take me to Terminal A. Basically, it was a 10 minute walk instead of a 30 minute shuttle ride!
We boarded late and as happened on the flight from Nashville to Boston, my charging outlet didn’t work. I showed the flight attendant and indicated that it was actually falling off the armrest. I doubt she will report it and have it repaired though.
Landed late in Nashville but all my bags came with me. Again, great shows in Interlaken and Breim with fantastic entertainers. So nice to see all my friends that I have made throughout more than two decades.
Happy to be home for a week…then back to Norway and Brazil.
Jude